The Size of Your Dreams, - [good books for high schoolers txt] 📗
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“Can you see it, Christy?”
Christy nodded.
“Can you feel it, Christy?”
“Yes.”
“What happens next?”
“The entire team goes crazy. They all jump into the pool and hug me. We’re all screaming, some even crying.” Christy’s eyes swelled.
Mr. Griffin said, “You barely have time to towel off before someone hands you the largest trophy you’ve ever seen and a microphone. What do you say?” “I’d take the trophy over to the stands.” “Why? Who’s in the stands?”
“Coach Silver’s nine-year-old daughter Kim is there, watching with her dad. I’d say, ‘we want you to have this, Kim, from all the girls on the team. Whenever you look at it, we want you to remember everything your mom did for us. Without her, we never could have won. And remember all that she did for you. You didn’t have her long enough. But with the gifts she gave you, you can do anything!”
“I want everyone to remember this look on Christy’s face. That’s the look of inspiration. With the expression she had ten minutes ago, she was barely capable of achieving the ordinary. With this look, she’s ready to take on the extraordinary. Christy, make the sound of victory you’re feeling right now.”
Christy raised her eyebrows and shook her head.
“Come now, Christy. You told me you were fully dedicated.”
She turned away and wiped her eyes.
Mr. Griffin faced us. “One reason that so few people achieve the extraordinary is that we get embarrassed by the power of our own greatness. Don’t let Christy fall into that trap. If you believe in her, let her know.”
Jarod, who never minded making an ass of himself in class, pumped his fist and started chanting, “Christy! Christy!”
Darnell and I looked at each other. I shrugged and joined in. Darnell threw his fist in the air. Ordinarily, teachers quieted us down when we started getting too rowdy, but Mr. Griffin screamed, “Louder!”
“Christy! Christy!”
“Don’t let her stand there alone. If you believe in her, get on your feet.”
Jarod was the first to rise. This math class was finally jiving with him. Once he was up, Darnell and I also stood up. “Christy! Christy!”
“You see, Christy,” Mr. Griffin said, “you can’t embarrass yourself in front of them. They’re all behind you. They all believe in you. Now, let me hear the sound of victory.”
Christy thrust her arms high, “Yeah!”
“Do it again. Louder”
“Yeaaaaaaaah!”
“Once again, but this time, I want everyone who believes in Christy to join in. Go!”
We all shouted. Jarod took her in a bear hug. When he let go, Darnell stepped forward, with arms halfway out, then backed off, hovering just beyond her reach.
“Now stop,” Mr. Griffin said.
The class grew quiet.
“Everyone take your seats. That was the easy part.”
Easy?
“Tell me, Christy, what would you do to make that vision a reality?”
“Anything.”
“Anything? Be careful what you commit to. To get you there, we may have to put that ‘anything’ to the test.”
Christy nodded. “What do I do now?”
“First, take a notecard. You’re going to create what I call an Outcome Card.” Mr. Griffin handed her one from his desk. “Write on the top:
I intend to captain the girls’ swim team to Victory in the State Championship on . . .
“When’s the championship?”
“March 8th.”
I intend to captain the girls’ swim team to victory in the State Championships on March 8th. To accomplish this, I will do the following:
“Got it,” Christy looked up. “What do I write next?”
“I have no idea,” Mr. Griffin said.
“That’s all that goes on the card?”
“No. You need to write down the steps you’ll take.”
“What are the steps?” Christy asked.
“How should I know?” Mr. Griffin shrugged. “I don’t know what it takes to win at swimming. I can’t even do the backstroke.”
“You don’t know? So we’ve done all of this for nothing?”
“Hardly for nothing. Tell me what you need to do.”
Christy slumped in her chair. “I don’t know.”
“I think you know far more than you’re letting on. And if you’re truly stuck, I bet you can find others willing to lend you a hand.”
Turning to the class, he said, “Raise your hand if you’re willing to help Christy find the answers she needs.”
All of us raised our hands.
Turning back to Christy, he said, “I’ll help too. Just don’t expect others to have the answers for you. You’ll get plenty of suggestions, probably more than you can handle, but the ultimate decision has to rest with you. Understand?”
Christy nodded.
“Now, tell me one thing you need to do to captain your team to the Championship.”
Christy bit the end of her pen. “Get a decent coach I guess.”
“I’m not sure a decent coach will cut it at this point, are you?”
Christy sat straighter. “No. To save us, we need an amazing coach.”
“Excellent, so now add to your card:
1. Find an amazing coach
Christy wrote it down. “But how do I do that? We don’t even have the budget to hire one.”
“True. Since this is such an important step, and since it will have a distinct timeline and its own collection of steps, I think it merits a notecard of its own.” Mr. Griffin handed her another card. “This time, write at the top:
I intend to find an amazing coach for the girls swim team by . . .
“When do you need the coach by?” Mr. Griffin asked.
“We need her already.” “How long can you give it?”
Christy thought for a moment. “I’d say no more than two weeks.”
“Then write:
I intend to find an amazing coach for the girls’ swim team by November 24. To accomplish this, I will do the following steps.
“Now we’re back where we started,” Christy said. “I don’t know what to put down.”
“As you were brave enough to go first, I’m going to help you with this card. You yourself said that a good coach just won’t cut it. You need an amazing coach. Tell me, who are the best swimming coaches in the world?”
“I don’t know. I suppose the Olympics coaches. Or the coaches of the top college programs.”
“Excellent. Start with them.”
Christy shot up in her chair. “I can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“What do you want me to do, call the Russian Olympics coach and tell her I’m a high school student looking for a swim coach, and oh yeah, I have no budget to pay you, but would you help me out by coaching me for free?”
“I’d be inclined to start with the US Olympics coach rather than the Russian, but why not? Worst case, you’ll get a no, which leaves you no worse off than you are now.”
“I’m guaranteed to get a no, so why bother wasting my time?”
“Granted, if you call her up and yap like a whiny teenager, ‘I’m looking for a coach who’s willing to work for free,’ then you’ll get a no.”
“So what do I say?”
“Don’t tell her what you want her to do, tell her why you want her to do it.”
Christy brow pinched. “I want her to do it because we need a coach.”
“No, that’s still what you want her to do.” Mr. Griffin groaned. “You need to sell her on your vision.”
Christy tilted her head. “How do I do that?”
“Tell me, why do you need a coach?” Mr. Griffin tapped his pen against his palm.
“So we can win.”
“And what will you do if you win?”
“Dedicate the victory to Coach Silver’s memory.”
“Why?”
“She was an amazing coach and got killed by a drunk driver.” Christy pursed her lips. “We miss her.”
“That” Mr. Griffin pointed his pen at her, “is a lot more compelling than ‘we want a coach for free.’”
“Yeah,” Jarod said, “when you first said you wanted a new coach, I didn’t care all that much. But when you stood in front of the class and dreamed up your win at State’s, I got all excited for you.”
Christy turned to face him. “Really?”
“For sure.”
“So,” Mr. Griffin said, “now can you think of what you could say to a top coach?”
“I guess I could tell her about Coach Silver and how she was killed and how we want to win State’s and dedicate the win in her memory.”
Jarod added, “Even I’d coach your team if you talked to me like that.”
Christy smacked him on the side of the head. “You can barely even float.”
“You have a powerful vision, Christy,” Mr. Griffin said. “It’s my experience that the best coaches love their sport and love helping others improve. Throw in a good cause, and I think you’ll be surprised at how willing they’ll be to help.”
“That doesn’t mean she’d move here from Russia to coach us,” Christy said.
“Still on the Russian Olympics coach?” Mr. Griffin asked. “No, she won’t move here to work with you. But you’ve defined success too narrowly. If you’re looking for one of these coaches to quit their job and coach you instead, you’re dreaming.”
“But I need a coach.” Christy turned her hands up. “How else could I define success?”
“Class, any of you have any thoughts?”
“I think,” Darnell said, “that you could ask them if there’s any help they’d be willing to give, even if it’s not actually coaching you. Maybe they could give you tips or something.”
“We need more than just advice at this point.”
“Of course you do,” Mr. Griffin said, “but Darnell’s right. You don’t need to get everything on the first call. The Russian Olympics coach is connected to top coaches all over the world, including some who live several thousand miles closer. She might be willing to make an introduction or even look at a video of one of your practices and give you feedback over video conference.”
“You really think she’d say yes?”
“Absolutely,” Mr. Griffin said. “I think there’s at least a 10% chance.”
Whatever light had built up in Christy’s eyes went out. “Only 10%? So now we’re back to nowhere.”
“Not even close. Tell me, what separates great salespeople from ordinary ones?”
Christy shrugged. “I suppose it’s the ability to get people to say yes.”
“That’s the second greatest distinction. More important is the ability to hear the word no.”
“How does that help?” Jarod asked.
“Ordinary salespeople go out on a sales call, and if they get a
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